FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (Feb. 13, 2013)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's basketball squad returns to the friendly confines of DeSimone Gymnasium riding a six-game win streak and holding a two-game lead atop the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division standings. The 21st-ranked Rangers open their homestand on Thursday against McKendree University before facing 13th-ranked Bellarmine University on Saturday.

The Rangers tip off against the Bearcats at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday inside DeSimone Gymnasium while tipping off against the Knights at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats, video and audio will be available for both games. Steve Kratochvil will be providing play-by-play for both games with Jim Kramer providing color commentary on the audio feed available online and on WRJN 1400 AM in southeast Wisconsin.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (1605, 11-2 GLVC) continues to find ways to win, having won six straight, a streak that includes five victories over Top 25 squads. The Rangers began last week with a 75-70 victory over then No. 23 Kentucky Wesleyan College 75-70 on Feb. 7 before edging then No. 10 University of Southern Indiana 76-72 in overtime on Saturday.

Against the Panthers, UW-Parkside led by 11 at the half before seeing its advantage shrink to just a point late in the second half. The Rangers played solid defense down the stretch and hit four consecutive free throws to escape the Owensboro Sportscenter with the win.

Two days later against USI, Bryant Smith emerged as the hero draining a three from NBA range with 18 seconds left and hitting another huge three to tie the contest in overtime as the Rangers padded their lead atop the league standings with the four-point win over the second place Screaming Eagles. 

Colt Grandstaff was a huge presence for the Rangers last week, coming off the bench and leading the team in scoring in both games. Grandstaff collected 22 points on his 21st birthday against KWC while tallying 17 against USI. The junior guard has led the team in scoring the last five games.

UW-Parkside climbed into the Top 25 Rankings this week, accumulating 74 points for the No. 21 spot. The ranking is just the fourth appearance in the Division II Top 25 in program history and the first time since claiming the No. 24 spot on Nov. 28, 2007. The Rangers additionally appeared in the Top 25 at No. 16 on Dec. 17, 2001 and No. 19 on Dec. 10, 2001.

Jeremy Saffold is the team's leading scorer, averaging 18.2 points per game along with 5.6 rebounds per game. Zygimantas Riauka is second on the squad in scoring with 12.5 ppg while leading the team on the glass with 6.3 rpg. The sophomore owns 27 blocks on the year, none more important than a key swat in the waning moments of regulation against USI, forcing overtime. Conrad Krutwig chips in 11.0 ppg and 5.6 rpg while Grandstaff chips in 10.5 ppg.

Feb. 14 vs. McKendree University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Bearcats have met just twice with UW-Parkside owning a 2-0 advantage in the series. The series began during the 1988-89 season with the Rangers downing host McKendree 81-67 before renewing the series earlier this year with McK making its debut in the GLVC.

Last Meeting: UWP downed the host Bearcats 76-59 on Jan. 19 in Lebanon, Ill. The Rangers led 35-22 at the half and maintained at least a 12-point buffer the rest of the game, dominating virtually every stat category. UW-Parkside committed just five turnovers while holding a 48-12 edge in point in the paint and a 14-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

About the Bearcats: McKendree (7-16, 1-12 GLVC) has struggled in its inaugural GLVC campaign, having won just once in its 13 conference games. The Bearcats are currently stuck in an 11-game losing streak and have yet to defeat a GLVC East Division opponent.

The Bearcats lone GLVC triumph was at the expense of Quincy University, downing the Hawks 67-59 on Jan. 5 in their second ever conference contest. McKendree hasn't had much luck since, dropping 11 in a row including an 89-81 decision to Saint Joseph's College on Feb. 7 and a 56-46 defeat to the University of Indianapolis on Saturday.

John Steppe leads the Bearcats in scoring and rebounding, entering Thursday averaging 18.0 ppg and 7.6 rpg. Clinton Happe adds 17.8 ppg and 4.7 rpg while Mike DiGregorio and Matt Murphy contribute 11.7 and 10.1 ppg, respectively. Happe is a dangerous threat from the perimeter, draining a team-high 64 threes on the season and hitting 43.7 percent of his chances from long distance.

The Bearcats rank last among GLVC programs in field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin, allowing opponents to shoot 48.9 percent from the floor while getting out-rebounded by a -7.8 margin. McKendree is the GLVC's top team in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to hit just 30.2 percent of shots from beyond the arc.

Feb. 16 vs. Bellarmine University at DeSimone Gymnasium (Live Stats)(Video)(Audio)

Series History: The Rangers and Knights have met 31 times on the hardwood with Bellarmine holding a 25-6 advantage in the series. BU has won seven straight in the series with UW-Parkside's last victory coming during the 2007-2008 season, a 73-67 victory inside DeSimone Gymnasium on March 1.

Last Meeting: Host and then 12th-ranked Bellarmine downed the Rangers 65-58 on Jan. 17 inside Knights Hall in Louisville, Ky. UW-Parkside trailed by as many as 19 points before a Krutwig three with 1:58 remaining cut the deficit to just one point. UWP was unable to score the rest of the game as BU held on for the win.

About the Knights: After winning five straight to begin GLVC East Division play, No. 13 Bellarmine (17-4, 9-4 GLVC) has alternated wins and losses its last four games. The Knights split a pair of games last week, falling 64-62 at home to Indianapolis on Feb. 7 before blowing out St. Joseph's 95-77 on Saturday.

Three of the Knights' four losses have come on the road. Bellarmine is 13-1 in home or neutral site contests while sporting a pedestrian 4-3 record in true road games.

Four Bellarmine players average double figure scoring with Vance Hall leading the way with 16.2 ppg. Hall is among the nation's best at the charity stripe, shooting 90.0 percent from the free throw line which ranks him eighth nationally. Chris Dowe adds 13.7 ppg and a team-best 5.2 rpg with Keisten Jones and Jake Thelen adding 11.6 and 10.5 ppg, respectively.

The Knights rank fourth nationally and first in the GLVC in field goal percentage, draining 50.6 percent of their opportunities while ranking ninth nationally in both scoring margin (+13.5) and free throw percentage (76.0 percent).

National Rankings: UW-Parkside ranks in the top 25 in six statistical categories and is among the top 50 in nine statistical categories. The Rangers rank 13th (out of 286 teams) in assist to turnover ratio (1.34) while sit 15th in turnovers per game at 11.3. UWP ranks 16th in both field goal percentage (49.4 percent) and personal fouls per game (14.9) while sitting 18th in turnover margin (+4.0) and 19th in free throw percentage (75.3 percent). The Rangers rank 26th nationally in scoring margin (+10.5), 32nd in winning percentage (76.2 percent) and 45th in scoring offense (77.4 ppg).

Individually, Andy Mazurczak is sixth in the nation in assist to turnover ratio at 3.0 while Bryant Smith is 23rd (2.46). Jeremy Saffold ranks 45th in scoring (18.2 ppg) while Zygimantas Riauka is 91st in blocks per game (1.29).

GLVC in the Top 25: Five GLVC teams appear in the week 11 NABC Top 25 Coaches' Poll, released on Tuesday. UIndy headlines the poll at No. 12 while Bellarmine is one spot back at No. 13. GLVC West Division leader Drury University is No. 18 while UW-Parkside makes its debut at No. 21. Southern Indiana rounds out the GLVC contingent, occupying the No. 23 spot.  Kentucky Wesleyan College dropped out of the poll this week.

Record Book Watch: Jeremy Saffold is tied with Quincy Moman (1999-2003) for ninth place on the all-time scoring list with 1,420 points.  Saffold is additionally 14 rebounds of 500 for his career and 40 shy of cracked the top 10. Mark Zukley (1990-1994) currently occupies the No. 10 position on the all-time rebounding list with 527 boards.

Tournament Time: The 2013 Deaconess GLVC Tournament will be held March 7-10 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000, or through the Ford Center box office at (812) 422-1515. 

All-Tournament passes are $35, while Session Flex Passes are $25, allowing you access to any two of the first six sessions, excluding Sunday's finals.  Single-session tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students with a valid ID, while children aged six and under are admitted free of charge.

The 2013 Deaconess GLVC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship Tournaments will feature 16 seeded teams, including eight men's and eight women's squads that will have earned an invitation following first-round matchups on their respective campuses.  On Thursday, March 7, the men's quarterfinals will take place with four games at noon, 2:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. CT.  Friday's action will feature the four women's quarterfinal contests at the same times.  Both the men's and the women's semifinals will commence on Saturday, March 9, as the men take to the court at noon and 2:30 p.m., followed by the women at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.  The men's GLVC Champion will be crowned on Sunday, March 10, at noon, followed by the women's final at 2:30 p.m.